Chicks Ahoy! wins Toronto Roller Derby championship

Chicks Ahoy! beat the Gore Gore Rollergirls 114-97 on Saturday night, finishing the Toronto Roller Derby League's second season in the top spot.

Played at an arena in the city's west end in front of more than 800 screaming fans, the tense game was only truly decided in the final period.

While the Chicks came on strong at the beginning, leading at the end of the first period, the Gore-Gores were up by five points as the game went into its final 20 minutes.

The Chicks had been defeated by the Gores earlier this season and were seen by some as the match underdog -- something team captain Sally "Mach Wheels" Brabant denies.

"I don't think that the Chicks were the underdog," she says. "I think that both teams came in with the possibility of the win."

"For the past almost two seasons we've really put the time in. Most of the people on the team were not athletes before. They really worked hard."

The Toronto Roller Derby League launched its first season in the summer of 2007 and attracts hundreds of people to its games.

The game is played on an oval track by five skaters at a time.

One skater from each team -- the "jammer" -- tries to pass as many of the opposing team's players as many times as possible in an effort to score points. She earns one point for each opposing skater she passes on each lap.

Physical contact is allowed and encouraged, and players come with playful monikers such as Miss Behaviour, Dyna Hurtcha and Spee Dee Ramone.